January 22, 2018

Images: Doing the Right Thing for the Right Whale

Like this whale, the population of North Atlantic right whales is headed downward. The species has never recovered after whaling ended in 1935, and only an estimated 300 to 350 remain. Photos by David Wiley, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

To learn about marine mammal hearing, researchers use the WHOI necropsy and CT scan facility to reveal the internal anatomy of ears. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Graduate student Regina Campbell-Malone studies the structure and properties of whale jawbones to determine how they stand up to impacts from ship collisions. Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI.

A southern right whale (inset) shows a roll of fat behind its blowhole, which northern right whales often lack. WHOI research indicates that southern right whales (unlike northern right whales) may have increased their population because they are getting adequate nutrition to achieve successful pregnancies. Photos by Carolyn Angell, WHOI.

WHOI biologist Michael Moore (top) begins a necropsy to determine what killed this right whale. Photo by Regina Campbell-Malone, WHOI.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is the world's leading non-profit oceanographic research organization.
Our mission is to explore and understand the ocean and to educate scientists, students, decision-makers, and the public.